NYPD officer charged with DWI in Southern State Wrong-Way Crash

Originally published: August 10, 2013Updated: December 29, 2014 at 11:13 amBy Zachary Reis

Ann off-duty NYPD officer was driving a Mazda MPV eastbound in the westbound lanes of the parkway near Exit 17 at about 1:45 a.m. when he struck five vehicles, police said.

LAKEVIEW, NY(MorichesDaily) – The driver who was going the wrong way on the Southern State Parkway in Malverne early Saturday morning, crashing into five other cars, has been identified as an off-duty NYPD officer, State Police said.

Ronald Holmes, 48, of Elmont, was driving a Mazda MPV eastbound in the westbound lanes of the Southern State Parkway near Exit 17, Hempstead Avenue, at about 1:45 a.m. when he struck as many as five vehicles, police said.

One person was taken to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow for minor injuries and three others were treated at the scene but not admitted, police said.

The extent of the injuries was not immediately known.

Holmes faces charges of driving while intoxicated, reckless endangerment, reckless driving, operating a motor vehicle without an inspection certificate, failure to obey a traffic device and a one-way violation, according to police.

At Holmes’ arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead bail was set at $10,000 bond or $5,000 cash, officials said. His next court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday.

As of Saturday night, Holmes had not posted bail, authorities said.

Holmes, of the 76th Precinct in Brooklyn, has been suspended without pay, NYPD officials said.